Ginger, lemon and honey for warmth

It's weird to think now that there were times in my life when I was unhappy with my body. I have been within a couple of kilograms of my perfect weight for many years now, and I eat and drink pretty much whatever I want. Looking back, there is one tiny thing I did that solved all my food and weight issues: I stopped worrying about it. It was a difficult thing to do, as from a young age I felt that being even slightly overweight made me a complete failure. This sort of reasoning is invariably going to cause imbalance and unhappiness. Then I made the conscious decision to stop beating myself up about it and I gradually lost weight and grew to be happy with my body.  The decision came at uni, when I first came to London. I met so many great people and started having such a fun time that food didn't matter as much anymore and the self-hated just didn't make sense. Like everything in life, this was a process - it was a complete battle at times, yet instinctively I knew that I was fighting the good fight. There were many things that helped me along the way - good friends, family, meditation... above all, my own honesty and openness probably. You can't get anywhere in life if you are hiding and lying to yourself and others. Eventually, I grew to love food all over again, but this time it was a mature and pure kind of love, rather than the confused, childish, all-or-nothing kind. Once this sort of change happens in your mind, you want to be good to yourself and eat in a way that nourishes and heals your body

 This is my favourite drink for when the weather turns cold and, randomly, a magician taught me how to make it. It builds up your immune system and digestion, as well as curbing sugar cravings. You peel and simmer a couple of inches of fresh ginger in plenty of water until it colours slightly. Stir in a tablespoon of honey and squeeze in half a lemon. Drink this within 20min for the full benefit of vitamin C from the lemon. I like to drink this from my wooden sake box, I don't know why but this feels like the natural thing to do